Holiday in Poland

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If Poland is at the heart of Europe, then Masovia lies at the heart of Poland. The former duchy of Mazovia is Warsaw’s ancient hinterland, a rolling agricultural landscape dotted with castles and cathedrals and riven by three mighty rivers – the Vistula, the Narew and the Bug. It’s largely rural region, with exception of Warsaw, which like phoenix rising from the ashes, has rebuilt from the rubble of WWII to once again become a thrusting, thriving capital city on the banks of the Vistula. It’s Poland’s most cosmopolitan, dynamic and progressive urban centre, dotted with luxury hotels, glamour restaurants and elegant shops, and home to a rich and varied cultural scene. Whether you’re interested in fine dining, museums, opera or bazaars, you will find more to choose from here than in any other Polish city. In a way, Warsaw epitomizes the Polish nation – a blend of old and new both in spirit and appearance, respecting tradition but racing towards the future.

Podlasie lies to the east, stretching away towards the border with Belarus. As you head into its wooded plains the landscape becomes more rustic, its villages made up of traditional wooden houses, with milk cows grazing by the roadside. The main attraction here is the great outdoors – spotting wild European bison through the most-draped boughs of Białowieża’s primeval forest, paddling a canoe through the ‘African Queen’ reeds capes of the Biebrza River, or cuddling up on a winter sledge ride through the Białowieża woods. Stretching along the border of Poland and Belarus, Podlasie has for centuries been influenced by these two cultures. With its blend of West and East, Catholicism and Orthodoxy, you may at times feel as though you’re traveling different country. The further off the main track you go, the more onion-shaped Ortodox domes you’ll see and the more Belarusian language you’ll hear.

Małopolska (literally ‘Little Poland’) encompasses a sizeable chunk of southeastern Poland, bordering Ukraine to the east, Mazovia to the north and the Carpathian Mountains to the south. It’s still a largely rural area, a land of rustic villages, picturesque countryside and rolling green hills. Historically, together with Wielkopolska, Małopolska was the cradle of the Polish state. As a royal province, the region enjoyed the special attention of the king, who built an array of castles to protect it. The region’s major attraction is Częstochowa, Poland’s spiritual heart and home to the country’s most important Catholic shire, which is dedicated to the Black Madonna and has been drawing countless pilgrims over centuries. The Roztocze and Świętokrzyski National Parks are heaven for wildlife and walkers. Kraków (capital of Małopolska) is Poland’s third-largest cities and the country’s most popular tourist destination by far. As the royal capital for half of a millennium, it absorbed more of Poland’s history than any other city, and, miraculously, Kraków was the only large Polish city to emerge from WWII unscathed. Its stunning, well-preserved collection of medieval and Renaissance architecture is unrivalled, from the Old Town with its soaring Gothic churches, to the splendid Wawel Castle and Cathedral, and the former Jewish district of Kazimierz, with its poignant, silent synagogues.

Wielkopolska means Great Poland, and it’s not just a random name. This is the land at the root of it all, where the warring Slavic tribes first merged to form the original Poles and where the Polish nation itself was forged in the crucible of the Middle Ages. Despite this actual self-belief, Wielkopolska is little known outside Poland, as it lacks the distinct character of Silesia and the holiday infrastructure of Pomerania. Its provincial capital, Poznań, may get a flicker of recognition from Eastern European travelers and business types, but in the whole the region escapes from the foreign hordes that converge on Kraków, Warsaw and Gdańsk.